WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says peaceful protests similar to those that brought down the government in Egypt should be allowed to take place on the streets of Iran.
Instead, Obama says the Iranian regime has celebrated the undoing of Hosni Mubarak's government in Egypt but at the same time has gunned down and beat Iranians who similarly were trying to express themselves peacefully.
Obama says what has been true in Egypt should also be true in Iran.
Tens of thousands of Iranians turned out for an opposition rally Monday in solidarity with Egypt's popular revolt. Clashes between opposition protesters and security forces left one person dead and dozens injured.
Obama spoke Tuesday at a White House news conference.